Advanceshipping Week 2015
by ZachaRicO
Summary: A celebration of Advanceshipping as we build up to Advanceshipping Day 2015!
1. Day 1: How They Met

**I'm either a day early or right on time. Either way, let's kick Advanceshipping Week off right!**

 **Day 1: How They Met**

* * *

The forest was quiet and peaceful, always tranquil. Disturbance was seldom, though when it did come around, it was significant. One such disturbance happened on a peaceful day, though no one really noticed or cared, except for the one causing the disturbance.

She walked along the well-trodden path, a wide smile on her face. Even though the sun was high in the sky, the surrounding trees kept its wrath off of her so that she stayed cool. Adjusting her old white and black biker gloves, she walked over to a small ledge overlooking the ocean. There were nothing disturbing the ocean: neither boats nor Pokemon. It was completely still, like a painting.

Her mind drifted back six years, when she stood on this same exact spot, a bike in tow. Back then, the sea wasn't quite as peaceful. Back then, there was a boat coming in. She didn't think too much of it then, but that boat ended up changing her life forever.

Er...well...not necessarily the boat itself. It was someone _on_ the boat that changed her life. Normally, boats can't really change your life. But that's none of my business.

She continued walking along, heading for the nearby Littleroot Town. It didn't take her long to get there. The town itself was a quiet little town, but it was known throughout the Hoenn region as the home of Professor Birch, a renowned Pokemon professor who could usually be found studying Pokemon in their natural habitats rather than in a lab, like other professors. This was also the place where aspiring Pokemon trainers came to pick their first Pokemon. While it wasn't the only place to start from, it was definitely the most popular. As a matter of fact, a well-known Pokemon coordinator named May Maple actually began her journey here. Her Torchic, now fully evolved into a Blaziken, was renowned for its beauty and skill. People had a hard time believing that it was originally meant for a trainer as opposed to a coordinator, but May stuck by this story. After all, it was true.

Now, as she walked around the lab, slowly running her hand along the wall, she could feel her heart fluttering as memories flooded her mind. She leaned her head against the wall, breathing deeply as she remembered.

A Pikachu on the verge of exploding…

A boy willing to jump a thousand miles just to save this Pikachu…

A Mudkip who didn't have a lot of respect for a trainer…

Three incompetent criminals who couldn't take candy from a baby even if they tried…

And one barbecued bike, straight off the grill.

"May?"

She snapped out of her thoughts at the sudden voice. She looked up sharply to see a middle-aged man looking at her. "Professor Birch?" she asked.

"Yep! That's me!" he grinned. May took in his appearance. He didn't look too much different, though his hair had started to gray up. His eyes still retained their youthful hue, which didn't surprise her. After all, if you spend all your time outside, it's hard for your eyes to get old.

"Long time no see!" she smiled. "How have you been?"

"Oh, the usual," he shrugged. "Studying, getting chased by wild Pokemon...what are you gonna do?" She chuckled. "How about you? How's the Princess of Hoenn been faring?"

"Just as well as she should be," she said with a wink. "Contests, Grand Festivals...I was actually runner-up at the Sinnoh Festival last year. This year, I'm really feeling like I can win!"

"I look forward to hearing about it," Professor Birch nodded. "Well, anyways, I wish you the best. I have a project I'm working on right now, and I need to get it done fast, so if you'll excuse me." He turned and walked away. May just shrugged.

"He doesn't really mean that, you know."

She turned to see a familiar face staring at her, arms folded across his chest. "Nice to see you too, Brendan," she said, tensing up slightly. "How have things been with you."

"Better than with you, obviously," he said haughtily. "I actually came out on top at the Ever Grande Conference this year!"

"Really?" she gasped in delight. "Well, congratulations! I bet you earned it!" She held a hand out for him to shake.

He looked almost puzzled by this. "What are you doing?"

"Congratulating you," she replied. "What? You're not gonna shake my hand?" He didn't reply. Her smile fell off her face as she put her hands on her hips. "You know, you could indulge me a bit...if just for old times' sake."

"Do you know how hard I worked to earn that trophy?" he asked. "I spent hours each day training my Pokemon. Sometimes I even trained late into the night. How much do you train?"

"If you're implying that I don't work as hard for my contests as you do for your battles, then you're dead wrong," she replied, her voice getting more and more tense. "I work really hard on my technique, too."

"What technique?" Brendan huffed. "The only kind of technique you can use with Pokemon is battle technique."

"Is that right?" she asked, her voice starting to irk because of anger.

"Of course it is. A trainer would never stoop so low as to call your so-called technique equal to battle technique, and if he did, then he would be no trainer at all. He'd be nothing but a phony."

"Who are you calling a phony?!"

The two of them jumped on hearing the sudden voice. They turned towards it, and their reactions couldn't be more polarized. Before them stood a young man, about May's age, with a blue jacket, dark pants, and red sneakers. His hair was black and messy, and his eyes were a mild brown. But it was the red hat atop his head and the yellow Pikachu on his shoulder that made his identity clear.

"Ash!?" May exclaimed.

"Not you again," Brendan muttered under his breath.

The young man walked up to Brendan. Though his expression was unreadable, May knew well enough that he was displeased with her old friend. "If I was you, I'd take back everything you just said to May right now."

"Pft. Why?" he asked, folding his arms again with an air of superiority. "Does it bother you that I'm right?"

"It bothers me that you _think_ you're right," Ash replied. "I've worked with her and seen what she does in a contest. She works hard, almost as hard as you do. And you know what? She _does_ have technique. Unlike our kind of technique, which is battle-oriented, her technique is beauty-oriented. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Gosh, you're an idiot, you know that?" Brendan shook his head. "I can't believe you're siding with her on this."

"Hey, I've been an idiot for years," Ash replied with a smirk. "You think they label me an 'Idiot Hero' on TV Tropes for nothing?"

"Then I guess I'll have no problem beating you to a pulp in battle," he sneered, pulling out a Pokeball.

"Challenge accepted," Ash grinned, pulling out his own ball.

* * *

I could describe what happened next, but it's largely irrelevant. Needless to say, Ash mopped the floor with Brendan, leaving the trainer from Littleroot in shock.

"Now get out of here," Ash snapped at him. "I've had enough of you for a day."

Brendan huffed and left after recalling his Pokemon, leaving Ash and May alone.

"Always sticking up for me," she winked at him. "That's you, Ash Ketchum."

"Yeah," he said, putting a hand behind his head and blushing slightly.

"You know, I could've handled him myself if you let me," she said. "You didn't have to do that, but thanks anyways." She went over and hugged him.

"Anytime, May," he smiled as he returned her hug. "Anytime."

When they pulled apart, May raised an eyebrow. "Out of curiosity, what are you doing here? I didn't think I'd run into you here."

He took a deep breath and sighed, staring out at the ocean before them. "I guess I was just feeling a little nostalgic."

She smiled and stood next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, me too."

They stood there for a moment, then Ash perked. "Oh, by the way, I've got something for you."

"What is it?" she asked, looking up.

"Hang on," he said. "I'll be right back. Stay there, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded as he ran off. She looked back at the ocean, a hand over her heart. "I wonder what it is."

"I guess this is a little overdue, huh?"

She turned and gasped. Ash stood before her with a brand new, cherry-red bicycle. "Ash," she breathed. "What...how...why –?"

"Well, I knew your birthday was coming up in a week," he said, "so I figured I'd get you a new bicycle to make up for the one Pikachu destroyed. I wanted your family to hold onto it, but they're away on a trip, so I came to see Professor Birch about it. Turns out that was unnecessary. I can just give it to you now, huh?"

She looked at him with a bright smile, then ran over and hugged him tightly. "You didn't have to do that," she said, "but thank you, Ash. I love it!"

He reciprocated her embrace. "No problem, May," he said as his mind drifted back to that first day. _Who would've thought that day would change the course of my life?_ he wondered.


	2. Day 2: Relationship

**This could probably use some editing, but whatever.**

 **Day 2: Relationship**

* * *

"That was a great meal, Ash," May grinned as she rubbed her stomach.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he replied as they walked down the sidewalk. "It cost me practically everything I had."

"You didn't have to spend so much on me, you know," she said.

"Hey, if it makes you smile, it's worth the world," he winked at her. She blushed feverishly.

"Well, I suppose it's time to go home, huh?" she asked somewhat sadly.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But let's take a different route. I know a way that goes by the beach. We can hang out over there if you want to."

"I'd love to, but should we?" May asked in concern. "Mom and Dad want me home in an hour."

"Don't worry, May. We've got plenty of time. Just stick with me, okay?"

May shrugged and grabbed his hand. He smiled at her and gave it a small squeeze in response. Then he turned to the right on the sidewalk and started down a dirt path, barely visible in the moonlight. May felt leaves ruffling her bandana-clad hair.

"Isn't this a detour from my house?" she asked.

"Technically," Ash replied. "Just stay with me."

The rest of the small trek was quiet. After a while, they came out onto a small cove overlooking a Hoenn beach. The moonlight glimmered on the water, making it ripple more than usual.

"How did you find this place?" May asked with a smile.

"Hey, are you forgetting who you're with, here?" Ash chuckled, bending down to take off his shoes. He tossed them to the side and ran out. "Come on!" he called.

May took off her own shoes and ran after him. Together they stood in the shallow water, letting the water lap against their ankles.

"Ah," she sighed. "That feels good."

"Especially with all the hot weather as of late," Ash agreed. He bent down and shuffled his hands through the water as though looking for something. After a moment, he popped back up and tossed a small stone over the water. It skipped two times before plopping back down.

"Not bad," May winked. He chuckled and rummaged for another stone. When he got one, he tossed it likewise, but it just plopped into the water. He tried again, and this time, he scored three skips.

"Here, let me try," May said, rummaging for a stone. She pulled up a small rock.

"Uh, May," Ash raised an eyebrow. "That's not gonna–"

She'd already thrown it, only for it to plop into the water with nothing but an unpleasant splash that got some water on them.

"Darn it," she muttered. "Lemme try that again." She found another rock and was about to throw when Ash caught her arm.

"Wait a minute," he said. "That rock isn't going to skip. It's too heavy."

She looked at it a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said as she tossed it back to the shore.

"Here. Let me find one." He swished his hands through the water and pulled another small stone out. "Try that," he said, handing it to her.

She chucked the small stone...only to meet the same result. "Aw, come on!" she moaned. "What did I do wrong this time?"

"Let me walk you through it," Ash offered, picking up another stone and placing it in her hand. Then he got directly behind her and held her hand with his own. "You want to throw the stone at the right angle so that it catches some good air." He adjusted her angle. "Try that."

She tossed it. The stone skipped once before it sunk again. "Aw, man," she grumbled.

"Hey, that wasn't bad," Ash grinned. "Everyone has to start somewhere. Here: let's try again." He put another stone in her hand and repeated the process. This time, she didn't get any skips.

"Maybe I just can't skip stones," May sighed.

"Naw, don't say that," Ash said, undeterred. "That was just bad luck. Trust me, not every good stone I throw catches air. Here: try it one more time, okay?" He put another stone in her hand. After adjusting her angle, she tossed it again. It skipped once...twice...thrice...four times before it sunk.

"Whoa!" she jumped. "How did I do that?"

"Practice," Ash grinned, taking her hand in his own like he had when he showed her how to skip. "And a little bit of luck."

May looked at his hand, noticing that there was no stone in it now. She smiled and turned around so that they faced each other while holding each other's hand. Slowly, she leaned her head on his shoulder while he enfolded her in a light hug which she only so gladly returned. They stayed like that for a few seconds before the water tickled their ankles again.

"Hey Ash?" May asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember when we had our adventure with Jirachi?"

"Of course," Ash grinned. "Every last bit of it. Heck, I think it would make a great movie!"

May rolled her eyes. "Well, do you remember skipping stones with Max?"

"That's a bit more vague, but yeah," Ash nodded. "I was teaching him. He's a natural. Heh. I guess it runs in the – wait, how did you know we were skipping stones?"

May raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I didn't see you around while we were skipping stones. Where did you go?"

"I was up on the ledge with my wishing charm. I was watching you the whole time."

"Oh," he said. "Why didn't you come join us?"

"I had a lot on my mind that night," she replied. "I was thinking about my wish and whether or not it was really worth it to make it. I just needed time alone to think. That's all."

"Oh," Ash nodded. "That wish, huh?"

"Mmhmm," she grinned at him knowingly. "The one that came true." He returned the grin as they came together for another embrace. But this one was short-lived, as something in Ash's pocket beeped. He stepped back and pulled out his phone.

"Looks like you need to be home in a half-hour," he said.

"Then I guess we better get going, huh?" she replied.

"Yeah. Come on. Let's go get our shoes."

* * *

"There it is," May said as they walked up to her house.

"Yep," Ash nodded, checking his phone again. "With fifteen minutes to spare."

They walked up to the doorstep, then turned to each other again. "Thanks for tonight, Ash," she said. "I loved every second of it."

"Like I said: anything that puts a smile on your face is worth the world," he winked at her.

"Well, the world is worth a lot more because you live in it," she winked back.

"Oh, I don't know about that," he snickered. "The world probably wouldn't be worth as much if it wasn't for you."

"Who, little ol me?" she put her hands on her hips and glared playfully at him. "Naw, you're worth way more than me."

"Am I?" he replied, mirroring her. "I don't know, May. Your smile can brighten up the world faster than the sun can. And even then, it doesn't bring unbearable heat with it."

"Well, every light has its source," she said. "I wouldn't be anywhere near as bright if it wasn't for you."

He suddenly put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "And I wouldn't be anywhere near as bright if it wasn't for _you_ ," he whispered. May was initially surprised by his gesture, but that didn't last long as she smiled lovingly at him. She put her arms around his neck while he put his other arm around her waist. They kissed each other for a moment. Then May rested her head on Ash's shoulder while he took in the smell of her perfume. After a moment, they split apart and looked back into each other's eyes.

"Good night, Ash," May whispered.

"Good night, May," Ash replied, pecking her on the cheek. She turned and walked up to the door. After turning the doorknob, she walked in and, after flashing Ash one last smile, closed the door. Ash smiled back and, when he was sure she was safe, turned and walked away.

* * *

 **I just realized today that the last real Advanceshipping story I published this year was "The Last Day" back in February. Good thing we're fixing that right now, huh?**


	3. Day 3: Mom & Dad Side

**This story is largely incomplete, but it's a one-shot, so that's kind of excusable. Either way, it's still not my best work. Also, no, this is not a sequel to yesterday's story.**

 **Day 3: Mom & Dad Side**

* * *

"I don't understand what the big deal is!"

Norman folded his arms across his chest, his face stern. Caroline stood by him, a conflicted expression on her face. "May, we discussed this long ago when you began your journey," he said. "Our expectations haven't changed."

"But you know Ash! You know he's a good person who would never try to harm me!" May protested. "How could you say no to us being together?!"

"Oh May, sweetheart," Caroline said, coming up to her daughter and putting her hands on her shoulders, "we're not saying no. We're saying that we just need to know how he'll treat you as a boyfriend."

"I know how he'll treat me, Mom," May replied, slowly pulling away from her mother's soft grip. "He's put his life on the line to keep me safe. I know that he'll always be there for me, no matter what."

"Well I don't," Norman said, stepping forward. "Until I find a compelling reason to change my mind, I don't approve."

"He loves me, Dad," May said, fighting against tears as she clenched her teeth. "I know he does."

"Do you, really?" he asked, his tone softening. "How do you know he loves you and isn't using you?"

"Like I said, he always put my safety before his own. He would lay down his life for me."

"May," he said, "you may be older than you were when you started your journey, but you are still very young. How can you honestly believe that you know what love is?"

Those his tone was soft, his words stung like the harshest of words. But this was not because they hurt May. She wiped her tears away as her face twisted in rage, then she glared at him with a gaze that would put Medusa to shame.

"I know what love is, Dad," she said, her voice menacingly low. "It's more than warm fuzzy feelings and kisses and all that. It's selfless, always looking out for someone else before it looks for itself. It sacrifices itself to save the one it loves. When I first left on my journey, I didn't understand this. It was only because of Ash that I learned what it really means to love someone."

Norman's gaze didn't change. "Do you really believe this?"

"You betcha dang right I do!" she shouted at him, shocking her mother while her father remained unmoved. "And nothing you can do will ever change my mind! You never taught me how to love. You spent all your time in the gym accepting challenges and talking about them at dinner while I tried to dance and sing for you. You always called me silly for doing that stuff, and you tried to shoulder me with the burden of being a gym leader."

"I wanted you to have the honor of being a gym leader," he started.

"THERE'S NO HONOR IN THAT TITLE FOR ME!" she screamed. "I wasn't born to be a gym leader. I was born to be a top coordinator, whether you like it or not. Ash always supported me, right from the first moment I set my course. And I've always supported him, even when he went up against my own father!" This was the first thing she said that caught Norman off guard. "I wanted him to beat you because he deserved it! He deserves to be a champion, and he deserves to be supported. You never supported me. You tried to make me into something I'm not, and I will _never_ be what you want, no matter how hard you try!"

Her ranting done, she turned and stormed out, leaving her parents dumbfounded. The slam of a door shook Norman out of his stupor, and he started after his daughter, but his wife caught his arm. He glared at her, but when their eyes met, his gaze lowered, and he stood with his head hung down.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Ash asked when they reunited outside.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't manage anything. Instead, she broke down and fell into his shoulder, sobbing. Ash was surprised, but he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her and place his hand on her head. "May?" he said. "May, what happened? Come on. Please, talk to me."

She pulled out of their embrace, and she wiped the tears from her eyes. "He said no," she said.

Ash was astonished. "But why?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, the tears rapidly returning. "He just –" she didn't finish, as she fell back onto his shoulder again, weeping. They held each other close for several seconds.

"Then we'll have to convince him," he said. "He won't let us be together if he doesn't believe we love each other."

"I don't care what he says," May said, pulling out with a frown. "He never loved me like you do. He doesn't even know what love is. I love you, and I will stay by your side no matter what. Nothing's going to stop us, not even him."

Ash smiled. "So determined, huh?" he said. "Aren't you worried about what he'll say when you say that to his face?"

She shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

She put a hand on his cheek and suddenly pulled him in for a kiss. He didn't stay stunned for long before he returned the kiss. They broke apart after a few seconds, and she was smiling brightly.

"Because you wouldn't be."


	4. Day 4: The Pokemon

**This is either a day late or right on time. For me, it's a day late. Oh well.**

 **Day 4: The Pokemon**

* * *

Ash and May sat on opposite ends of the table, slowly eating their food without saying a word. A firm frown was set on both of their faces. Pikachu, sitting below, glanced at his trainer a moment to see if anything had changed. When he saw they didn't, he continued to eat. Glaceon looked at her trainer as well and met with similar results.

Abruptly, Ash stood up and said he was going outside to train. May brushed him off, prompting him to growl angrily before opening the door and slamming it hard. At this, May dropped her fork on the table and practically dove into the couch as she started to sob uncontrollably.

"This is terrible," Glaceon muttered as she watched her trainer cry. "What were they even fighting about?"

"I don't know," Pikachu shook his head, walking up to her, "but it didn't sound like it was so serious that they should stay this mad at each other about it."

"Have they ever fought this much?"

"Only once. It was before we came to Kanto for the Battle Frontier. The day just didn't start out well between them, and they bickered all day until Team Rocket tried to pull a fast one. After that little fiasco, they were quick to make up." He watched his trainer's girlfriend cry into the couch. "This is different. I don't think they fought over anything super serious, but they're obviously taking it in a different direction this time. They hurt each other bad."

Glaceon looked at him, puzzled. "How do you know?"

"May doesn't cry unless she's hurt, and Ash...well, he can usually take a hit or two, but when something _really_ hits him hard, he'll find some excuse to be alone for a while."

"What do we do?" she asked. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. They could break up!"

"You're right," Pikachu agreed. "We should help them make up. I'll go check on Ash to see what he's doing, and we'll go from there. Keep an eye on May for me, okay?"

"Okay. Be careful, Pikachu."

"Hey, relax," he winked at her, putting his paws on his hips. "I've dealt with things much worse than an angry _Pikapi_." Glaceon chuckled, and Pikachu ambled out, following Ash's scent until he found his trainer. He was training with Bulbasaur and Squirtle while his Charizard and Sceptile stood by. No sooner had Pikachu arrived then Ash suddenly ended training and walked into a small forest, his eyes shaded beneath the brim of his hat. No one else recognized that he was going to his secret place that no one else knew about. The only other person who knew about it was –

Pikachu's eyes lit up. _Aha! That's it!_

"Pikachu?"

He turned to see his friends staring at him with somber expressions. "What is it?" he asked.

"Is something going on with Ash?" Bulbasaur asked.

"He didn't seem very focused tonight," Squirtle said.

"It's something about May," Pikachu replied. "They got into a fight, and now they're not speaking to each other. I don't know what happened, but based on how they're acting, they must've hurt each other."

"I think Pikachu's right," Charizard agreed. "Ash doesn't lower his head like that unless something really hurts him."

"But what can we do?" Sceptile asked. "We should help him."

"I agree," Pikachu nodded, "but I've got zero ideas on what to do."

Squirtle scratched his head, then lit up. "We should talk to May's Pokemon and see if they have any ideas."

"That was going to be my next step," Pikachu grinned at his old teammate. "Come on! There's only so much daylight left today!"

* * *

Ash stared at the sun as it slowly set below the horizon. It was half-gone at this point. As he watched, he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a familiar trinket: a ribbon half whose counterpart was with May. He always thought that he and May were just like their ribbon: two halves of a whole. But after the fight they had earlier today, he just didn't know anymore. With a heavy sigh, he closed his fist over the ribbon, leaned his arms on his knees, and started to shake as he tried in vain to stifle his sobs.

* * *

"Okay, everyone got the plan?" Pikachu asked.

"Yup," Skitty nodded, along with all of May's other Pokemon.

"All right. Then let's move out!"

* * *

Something knocked on the window as May laid on the couch. She pulled her face out, her eyes marred with tears, and looked towards the sound. When she didn't see anything, she started to lie down again, but then she heard it again. Looking up, she saw Skitty grinning mischievously as she slapped her tail against the window softly. May told her to knock it off as she tried to lie down again, but Skitty kept going. With a huff of irritation, May stood up and stormed out of the house to scold her Pokemon, but when she looked towards the window, Skitty was nowhere to be found. She then heard a familiar sound come from the forest to her left. It was her Munchlax! Thinking he got a hold of some of the food, she ran after the sound.

At this, Munchlax started running away. "She's coming, guys!" he called.

"Got it," Pikachu, standing up in a tree, nodded. "Sceptile, Blaziken, you know what to do, right?"

"Right," the two Hoenn natives nodded. As soon as May was a good ways into the forest, they dropped down in front of the entrance, blocking it off so that there was no way in or out. May didn't notice. She was too busy following Munchlax's taunting cries. By now, she was visibly aggravated and began cursing to herself about what she'd do if Munchlax ate all the food.

After a while, she gave up and turned around, but there was a problem: she didn't know which way she came from!

"Wait a minute!" Pikachu exclaimed. "This isn't right! She was supposed to find Ash, not get lost! Munchlax!"

"Uh-oh," Munchlax muttered. "I knew I made a wrong turn somewhere."

"UGH!" Pikachu growled. "Charizard, you still with us?"

"Yup," Charizard replied from above as he flew around.

"Good. It looks like we're going to need that failsafe after all. Pull her out of there. She's calling for help."

"On it – wait, hold on a sec!"

"Oh, great...now what?" Pikachu groaned, expecting the worst as he facepawed.

"Ash can hear her! He's rushing in to find her!"

Pikachu perked. "He is?!"

"Yeah! Do you still want me to pull her out?"

"No! Stand by! Stand by!" Pikachu called frantically. "Where is she?!"

"She's about 37 degrees to your right. Head that way."

"Got it!" Pikachu said excitedly, following the path Charizard pointed out. After a quick dash, he saw May standing alone, frightened and angry as she cursed to herself about Munchlax. Then he heard Ash's frightened cries as he was worried about her. She heard this and became worried for him as well. Then he jumped out, startling her, which also startled him. May, however, was quick to chide him for scaring her, while he retorted by saying he was afraid she was in trouble. She was about to retort, but then she realized what he said and asked if he really meant that. He said that of course he did. She was his friend, and he always worried for her safety. Pikachu didn't fully understand what happened next, but they held each other's hand and spoke softly as they gazed deep into each other's eyes. Then they shared a tight embrace, tears falling down both of their faces, more-so down May's. Although Pikachu couldn't understand everything he was hearing, there was one phrase that he had no trouble comprehending:

 _I love you_.

He smiled brightly. "Mission accomplished," he said to his friends. "Sceptile, Blaziken, you can open the exit now. They're back together."

Ash and May looked around and said something. They sounded anxious, as though they were lost.

"I think they need help," Charizard called from above.

"You're clear," Pikachu gave a thumbs-up. "Pull them out, and while you're at it, can I get a lift on your tail?"

"No problem," Charizard nodded. He slowly descended towards his trainer and his trainer's girlfriend. After a moment, he rose back into the air with them on his back. Pikachu jumped onto his tail, and with that they all flew out of the forest and back to the house

* * *

 **In theory, the theme for today focuses on May's Venusaur and Ash's Bulbasaur, but I decided to do things my way. Also, since this was focused on the Pokemon, I wanted their perspective to be the one we got in this piece, which is why Ash and May have no written dialogue outside of what the Pokemon hear.**


	5. Day 5: Memories

**I think that, of the stories I've written for this week thus far, this one strays farthest from the original theme to the point where it's just a side theme. Oh well.**

 **Day 5: Memories**

* * *

May sat on a bench outside the stadium, a depressed expression on her face. Though the sky above was sunny as could be, she didn't think the rain could come down any harder. Blaziken, her faithful first Pokemon, sat behind her, arms on its knees and eyes somberly closed. Venusaur sat beside her, sighing every now and again. She was larger than normal with more leaves and a bigger flower on her back: a Mega-Venusaur.

Skitty and Beautifly frolicked about in a nearby patch of flowers, but no one else noticed. With a sigh, May hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in them. There were no tears in her eyes; there was only resignation.

" _Bulba_?"

She popped out of her curled-up position at that and saw a Bulbasaur standing in front of her, head cutely cocked to the side. "Bulbasaur?" she said, not recognizing the Pokemon.

"Ah, there you are," a familiar voice said with a smile. "Thanks for your help, Bulbasaur. Feel free to hang out with the others. I'll take it from here."

" _Bulbasaur_!" Bulbasaur grinned, scampering away to play with Beautifly and Skitty. Pikachu joined them.

"Ash?" May raised an eyebrow. "When did you get here?"

"Last week," Ash replied, adjusting his red cap with a white visor. "I wanted to join up with you so I could cheer you on in the Grand Festival, but I couldn't find you until today. What happened?"

May sighed as she recalled the past week. "I barely made it in time to register for the festival," she said.

"What happened?" Ash asked, sitting down next to her.

"A big, fat nothing," she muttered. "There was a Snorlax blocking the way."

"There was? Oh, for crying out loud...I thought they took care of that problem twenty years ago!"

"Oh, ya think?" she said sarcastically.

"Anyways," Ash went on, "you had an excellent appeals round: a lot better than your first Grand Festiva."

"Yeah, no kidding," May smiled slightly, remembering how she had foolishly taken her rival Harley's advice and completely relied on her Skitty's Assist until she confused herself with Petal Dance. Her score had ended up being in the 70s, one of the lower scores on the board. Yet somehow she succeeded in getting into the battle round.

This time around, she'd scored 100.

"And then I flubbed it in the battle section," she whispered, hanging her head low.

"No you didn't," Ash said, scooting closer to her. "You had a great match against Dawn. It was super close the whole time. In the end, she only won because she had three more points than you."

"And those three points cost me the festival!" she glared at him before her face fell again. "If only I'd trained a little more...then we wouldn't have had a repeat of the Wallace Cup."

Ash looked at her sad face, crestfallen. _She's really taking this one hard_ he thought. _Is it because she didn't know I was here to support her?_

"I wish I'd known you were here," she said, almost as though reading his mind. "Then maybe I wouldn't have screwed up so badly. Heck, I probably would've won."

Ash moved closer again, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. "May," he whispered, "there are over a hundred people entering these festivals each year. Out of all those people, only one can come out on top. I don't blame you for working so hard to get there, and I'm certain that you'll get there one day if you keep to it. But if you let the losses get to you, you'll only fall into a negative mindset. Believe me, I was like that once, too. But as the years have gone by, I've realized that being runner-up isn't the worst thing in the world. The worst thing in the world is to never try in the first place. Besides, being in the top eight out of hundreds of people is pretty impressive in and of itself." May looked at him, the old fire returning to her eyes as he spoke, though her expression didn't change. "You see what I'm saying?"

She smiled slightly. "Yeah...I guess you're right."

He grinned and kissed her forehead. "There's the May I know," he said. His breath tickled her forehead. She giggled slightly. "Wanna go get some ice cream?"

"Sure!" she grinned as her mind flashed back to what happened after her first Grand Festival.

" _Ice cream?"_

" _Huh –?! Ash, don't scare me like that!"_

" _Sorry. I just thought you'd like some ice cream."_

She giggled. _He's always been so thoughtful_ she thought. _It's no wonder I fell in love with him._


	6. Day 6: Canon

**Darn it...Advanceshipping Day has passed. I didn't get all my material done in time. Oh, well. Enjoy.**

 **Day 6: Canon**

* * *

Ash sat near the edge of a small cliff, legs outstretched with his arms resting behind him. The sun was setting, though it would be a while before it descended out of sight. The green grass rustled in the light evening wind, brushing up against his wrists slightly. A small itch popped up on his leg from the grass, but he ignored it.

Not far behind him, his friends were camping for the night. His longtime companion Brock was busy setting up the tent with help from Max. His best friend Pikachu was already curled up and asleep. Lastly, there was May, sitting to the side with a bowl of stew in her hands. She ate it quickly and with a smile, and yet her stomach was churning. It obviously wasn't because of the soup Brock made, as that was always prepared with care. She knew it was something else.

With a sigh, she quickly finished her bowl then, after setting it down, she stood up and walked over to where her friend sat watching the sunset.

"Ash?"

He turned towards her, slightly startled, but he smiled quickly when he saw it was her. "Hey May," he said. "What's up?"

"Eh, I'm just bored," she shrugged, sitting down next to him. "You don't mind if I join you, do you?"

"Course not," Ash replied, looking back at the sky. "Sure is beautiful, isn't it?" He said this more to himself than to her.

"Yeah," she said. "You sure you don't mind me being here?"

Ash just chuckled. "If you think I'm still sore about earlier today, then you've got nothing to worry about," he said. "We all have days like this every now and again, right?"

"I suppose," May shrugged.

"By the way, how's Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Is he doing all right after that whole fiasco with Team Rocket?"

"Absolutely," May nodded. "You always take good care of him. Why shouldn't he be all right?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just feel kind of guilty letting Team Rocket get away with something like that so easily."

"It's both of our faults, really. We were so busy bickering that they had no problems seizing the opportunity."

"It's a good thing we pulled ourselves together after that, right?"

"Yep," May chuckled with him. After that, the air became quiet.

"Y'know," Ash said after a moment, "you were great out there today, May."

"Well, whataya know?" she said, putting her hands on her hips in mock pride. "You finally realized, hm?"

"Yeah," he admitted sheepishly. "I got really carried away with trying to one-up you that I kinda wrecked our battle with Oscar and Andi. If I'd focused on working with you as a team, things might have turned out differently. I'm sorry."

May raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. _Ash isn't one to apologize so easily_ she thought. _Didn't he and Misty always try to one-up each other? And they never apologized...well, that's what Brock told me, and Ash said that's true._ She returned his smile, equally bashful. "You know," she said, "I did the same thing, really. I focused less on working together and was more concerned about myself. I guess we'll have to remember that for the next time we get into a tag battle like that, huh?"

"You betcha," Ash grinned, pumping his fist. "And next time, if we meet Oscar and Andi again, we'll win!"

"That's right!" May mirrored him, then offered her hand to him. "Friends again?"

He chuckled as he took her hand. "Always."

As they shook hands, they failed to notice Brock and Max watching from a distance. "I'm glad they're making up," Max grinned.

"About time, dang it," Brock agreed. "For once, I'm glad Team Rocket was around today. If it wasn't for them, who knows how long those two would've fought."

"No kidding," Max chuckled. "To be honest, I can't wait to see them in a tag battle again. Seeing them trip over each other today was actually pretty funny."

"Don't expect it," Brock smiled knowingly, "I don't think it'll happen again."

Max looked at him, puzzled. "Why not?"

"Because when they work as a team, there's nothing they can't do."

Max raised an eyebrow. "What sets them apart from other teams?" he asked.

"You'll understand when you're older," Brock said, giving him a pat on the head. Max just shrugged and went into the tent. Brock, meanwhile, just grinned as one word flashed through his mind: one key ingredient that would always seal victory for Ash and May:

 _Chemistry._

* * *

 **In case it's not clear, this is supposed to be an alternate ending to "The Bicker the Better."**


	7. Day 7: Future

**This ended up not being as good as I hoped. Darn. At any rate, this was inspired by "Where are we Going?" by AdvanceArcy on DeviantArt. I hope you like it.**

 **Day 7: Future**

* * *

The walk to the dock was slow and slightly surreal. The reason it was slow was because the walkers didn't want it to end. The reason it was surreal? Same thing.

"Well, there it is," Ash said, a small smile on his face as the boat came in sight.

"Yeah," May sighed, mirroring his expression.

Ash checked his watch. "We've still got a half-hour before the boat leaves. Wanna go get some Dilly Bars before then?"

"Sure," she replied. "One more snack before we split up again."

"Just like last time, right?" he said.

May's smile grew. "I guess this is just our new tradition, huh?"

Ash licked his lips, his mouth watering at the thought of ice cream. "And I like it a lot."

"Me, too." With that, they set out to find a Dairy Queen in town. When they found one, Ash noticed May's face had fallen.

"Hey," he said, "you okay?"

She looked up and smiled again. "Yeah," she said.

"You don't look okay. What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later," she replied. "Let's get our snacks first."

"We only have so much time left, you know."

"I know. I just want to get some ice cream!"

"Okay, then," Ash conceded.

* * *

"These are the best!" May squealed as she ate her Dilly Bar.

"Agreed," Ash said as he finished the last bite of his. When they were finished, they went over to the docks. There were only ten minutes left. May's face fell again.

"Hey," Ash said, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. "You gonna be all right?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm just gonna miss you, that's all."

"No, it's not just that," he insisted. "Something's on your mind. What is it? You can talk to me about anything, you know."

"I know," she said. "I'm just...afraid of what you'll say."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Afraid?" Then his throat started to constrict as a thought occurred to him. "May...are you breaking up with me?"

"No!" May exclaimed, putting her hands on his shoulders. "No. I'm not leaving you. I just…"

She trailed off. "Go on," Ash urged her.

She took in a deep breath and spoke her mind. "Ash...where are we going?"

Ash blinked. "Uh...you're going back to Hoenn while I go to get my next –"

"No no no, that's not what I mean," May stopped him. "What I mean is, where are we going with _this_?"

Ash blinked again. "What do you mean?"

She took his hands in her's. "We've been together for almost two years now, and I couldn't be happier. I don't want this to end, Ash, but I don't want us to be this way forever, either."

"You're confusing me, May."

She pulled him closer, startling him slightly as her nose rubbed against his nose. "Ash," she said, "are we going to keep growing closer, or are we eventually going to drift apart?"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Ash put his arms around her, still confused, though he was beginning to understand. "May," he whispered, "you are one of the best things that's ever happened to me. To drift away from you would be a nightmare. Whatever happens to us, no matter what, I will never leave your side." She blinked, then he smiled. "Don't worry. I...kind of get what you're saying, and I promise you, we're not just going nowhere." Then he pulled her in for a kiss, which she only so gladly returned. Though he didn't say anything else, she knew that his words had more than enough weight to them to bring security.

When they broke apart, a horn blared as an announcer declared that the boat would leave in five minutes. The two of them quickly rushed to the docks.

"Well, I guess this is it then, huh?" May said.

"No," Ash shook his head, gazing deep into her eyes. "We're going to see each other again real soon."

"I know," she said. "It's just...I miss you so much when we're apart."

Ash nodded. "I miss you, too. But I always remind myself that we'll see each other again, and that's all I need to keep me going." He gripped her shoulders. "Think you can do that?"

"Yes," she said, a firm smile on her face. "I can."

Ash returned the smile, and then he pulled her into a tight embrace, which she heartily returned. Their hearts beat in perfect synchronization, sending goosebumps down both of their spines. They held each other for a minute before the horn blared again, issuing a final call. Then they slowly split apart and walked over to the entrance to the boat. After another brief embrace, May got on, constantly glancing back at the young man she loved. After one final glance, she turned and disappeared into the boat. Then it set sail.

Ash returned to the mainland and watched the boat slowly sail away. As he watched, he made out a familiar figure standing on the deck, hand outstretched and waving. Smiling softly, he raised his own arm and returned the wave.

"Goodbye, May," he whispered. "I'll see you again real soon."

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this series of oneshots! Boy, those last few paragraphs remind me of when my brother left for college. That seems to be a running theme with goodbyes in my stories. Oh, well.**

 **Feel free to rate and review, but no flames, please. In other news, "The Legend of Zelda: The Sonic Boom" will resume updates soon. I still expect it to be done by the end of the year, though it may extend into early January. But that's highly unlikely.**

 **Catch ya later! ZachaRicO: Out!**


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